Allegheny County Council wants to make more than $70 million in cuts to the county executive’s budget proposal and lower a property tax increase to 28.5 percent instead of 46.5 percent.
That's the result of Tuesday's contentious committee meeting.
Some members said they had just minutes to read the proposal before a 4-3 vote to advance the budget amendment to cut both Sara Innamorato's $3.1 billion spending plan and slash her proposed tax increase by almost 40 percent.
In a statement, the county's communications director said, in full:
"The County Executive put forward an honest budget in October, one that was only a 3% increase in spending over 2024 but was serious in addressing the significant, structural financial challenges the County faces. We will now review the amendments and budget as passed by committee tonight. While we believe the Council-proposed 1.35 mill increase is going to fall short of what the County ultimately needs, we will work hard to negotiate with Council leadership in hopes of finding agreement on a budget that will deliver core services, critical programs, and avoid layoffs," said Communications Director Abigail Gardner.